


Remembering

by AnitaB



Category: The Mentalist
Genre: F/M, Hypnosis kiss, Season 1
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-27
Updated: 2015-06-26
Packaged: 2018-04-06 09:42:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4216875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnitaB/pseuds/AnitaB
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The show has given us lots and lots of ideas about getting Van Pelt and Rigsby together, and then it just drops that hypnotized kiss in and does nothing with it?  Well, that just can’t be left hanging.  What would happen if Rigsby remembered… and finally did something about their attraction that Van Pelt just can’t ignore. (happy giggling as romantic smut ensues).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Remember What?

Remembering  
By AnitaB 

Chapter one: Remember What?  


//Just keep your head down and get the work done.// Her little mantra had been working pretty well in the week since Way—Rigsby had kissed her while under hypnosis. But today… today he’d been watching her… more than usual. Today she felt like a bug under a microscope and like a storm was coming and like a laser scope was trained between her shoulders. 

//Stop it, Grace.// They’d gotten Wa-Rigsby back, deprogrammed him, and best luck of all he didn’t remember a god-damned thing. So she should do anything else but sit here and wait for the other shoe to drop. It was over. 

Straightening her shoulders, Van Pelt grabbed the open file on her desk, lined up all the papers neatly, and headed for the filing room. Paperwork was always a good place to hide. The door didn’t quite click shut behind her.

“I kissed you.” 

//Shit, fuck, damn, hell.// “What? No, are you crazy?” She hesitated a second before turning to face him. It wasn’t enough time to get her expression right, but Wayne wasn’t going to give her long enough. Like hours or days. “What are you talking about?”

Rigsby closed the door behind him, the little snick of the latch falling into place had never sounded so scary before. Knowing he would never mean to hurt her did nothing to slow her heart rate. Neither did the way his shirt clung to all the strong, hard muscles of his chest and arms. “I kissed you, Grace, when I was hypnotized. I remember it. How soft your lips were, how sweet you tasted. I remember your hair between my fingers, your arms around me. I kissed you and you kissed me back. Why, Grace?”

He remembered, he remembered what she couldn’t forget. //Goddammit all to hell,// Grace told herself that the change in her breathing was worry, nerves. She lied. “You were hypnotized. That’s why you kissed me. It wasn’t real.” 

Those big brown eyes flicked to her lips for a second before trapping hers in a puppy dog look. “Oh, it was very real, Grace. But that’s not what I asked. I kissed you because I’ve wanted to do it for months now. I asked why you kissed me back.” She helplessly shook her head and he smiled, stepping closer. One big, gentle hand reached for hers, fingers stroking her skin. “Don’t lie, Grace. You kissed me back. I remember your arms around me. You even went on tiptoe. Tell me the truth. Why did you kiss me back?”

He wasn’t touching more than a few inches of skin. He hadn’t pushed or pulled her into his arms. He hadn’t laid a hand on her face or dragged her in for a kiss. But Grace could feel it. She felt those strong, gentle arms dragging her close and holding her tight. She felt his fingers on her face tilting her lips up for his. She felt the line of his chest and back against the tight grip of her fingers. She tasted his kiss on her lips, felt herself straining for more of him. She had kissed him back, so very eagerly. And now Wayne was asking her why with those puppy dog eyes and all that gentle strength. “I kissed you back… because … because I wanted to, Wayne.” 

Now he touched her. His hands moved to cup her face as his entire body moved closer along hers. Her hands lifted to rest against his chest. “I’m gonna kiss you, Grace, unless you tell me no right now. No hypnotism, just us.” His eyes were locked on her lips. He groaned just a little when she licked them nervously. “Well, Grace?” 

He waited, so close it would have been easier to just push ahead. This was really him, all that strength bound up in patience and gentle waiting. Wayne would never hurt her, never push her, never take away her will or her right to choose. “Wayne… yes, please,” 

She just barely had time to see his smile before his kiss closed her eyes and pulled her to her toes. Wayne slid his arms tight around her ribs as his lips opened against hers and his hands slid into her hair. //Yes,// Grace fisted both her hands in the back of his shirt and drank in the need and urgency of this kiss. This is what she’d wanted all week. She’d dreamed about feeling his arms holding her tight, his strong hands holding her close against his racing heart and exploring lips. Grace wrapped her arms around his neck, straining high on her toes to deepen this kiss, to taste more of him on her tongue, to feel more of his heat against every inch of her body. She needed more of him, closer, hotter, harder. Then he pulled back, just far enough to take away the heat of his lips. “Wayne, more…”

“Grace,” He held her close, but didn’t let her start the kiss up again. His breath heaved and rushed against her skin as his eyes and fingers stroked the line of her lips. “Not here, Sweetheart, not now.” Even with enough heat in his face to set fire to the files in this room, Wayne pulled back, one hand pushing her knee back down his hip. “We can’t do this here, Grace.”

Grace bit her lip at the thought. She had hooked a knee around his side and tried to climb the tall man in her arms. “Yeah, we should stop while we still can.” She nervously straightened her suit jacket and stepped back. “So, I guess we should…” 

Strong fingers caught her chin as she tried to duck her head. “We should get back to work right now, but you’re not allowed to be embarrassed about this, Grace. And I’m taking you to dinner tonight, okay?” She couldn’t help blushing a little, but her back straightened and her chin lifted. Grace gave him a smile and a nod, adoring the quick smile she got back. She couldn’t help leaning forward for just a second more of his lips against her own. 

“See you then,” 

000

Her eyes held every ounce of his attention. His fingers worshipped the skin of her hand. Every inch of his body trembled and begged for contact with hers. But, no, he had to wait. This was her decision and she had to make it. “Why did you kiss me back?”

Grace was staring at him, looking so afraid and yet, there in her eyes. //Please, Grace, please say it.// He waited, watched her eyes move to his lips, watched her remember the kiss he couldn’t forget. “I kissed you back… because … because I wanted to, Wayne.” 

He couldn’t hear that and not touch her. Wayne caught her precious face in his hands and pulled her closer, adoring the light press of her hands to his chest. Grace didn’t push him away, but she didn’t pull him closer. //Please, sweetheart…// “I’m gonna kiss you, Grace, unless you tell me no right now. No hypnotism, just us.” He couldn’t tear his eyes off her lips. Wayne remembered how those lips felt, tasted, they were heaven and so close and still out of reach. “Well, Grace?” 

Her breath rushed and hitched, close enough to brush his lips. Her hands trembled against his shirt. “Wayne… yes, please,” //Yes, Grace,// Wayne pressed a kiss to those heavenly lips, holding her tight and warm to eager skin. She opened to him, giving him the warmth and sweetness he’d missed all week. Grace fisted her hands in his shirt, her every muscle straining to hold him closer, tighter. //Oh, yes, Grace.// This kiss was everything he’d wanted and then it got better. Grace rose up on her toes to deepen the dance and play of their tongues. She hooked a long leg around his hip and sent his brain melting into goo. Every ounce of his blood rushed to meet the press of her hips against his. In a flash, he saw it. Her knee rose a few more inches. His hands rushed to help her wrap both legs around his waist. His body pinned hers to the nearest wall. Their first time was rushed, secretive, and maybe they got caught. //No, not that way.// It took every tiny little piece of self-control he could dredge up to pull his lips a breath from hers and keep that climbing knee from rising higher. “Wayne, more…” 

She was killing him with the heat in her voice. “Grace,” Wayne couldn’t let her out of his arms, not yet. His fingers worshipped the line of her lips, but if she kissed him right now, he would take her against a filing cabinet. And that was not how their first time would be. “Not here, Sweetheart, not now.” Wayne forced cold fingers to push her knee down his side ‘til her feet were on the floor. “We can’t do this here, Grace.” He pushed her back, just enough to catch a breath. In her eyes he saw the first realization of how close she’d, they’d, been to that line. 

“Yeah, we should stop while we still can.” He watched her fingers nervously straighten her suit jacket, felt his chest get cold as she stepped back. Her eyes left his, her shoulders hunching forward. “So, I guess we should…” 

//No, Grace, not like this…// He stepped forward to catch her face. He’d just gotten her into his arms, there was no backpedaling allowed. And before Wayne let her back out of reach, she had to know exactly where this was going and when. “We should get back to work right now, but you’re not allowed to be embarrassed about this, Grace. And I’m taking you to dinner tonight, okay?”

He adored the light blush on her cheeks. He loved even more the soft smile and the quick nod. His Grace wasn’t afraid or embarrassed about being in his arms. She wanted this too. And it was beautiful. Almost as beautiful as the quick and sudden press of her lips to his. “See you then,” 

Wayne let her step back, straighten her clothes, and head back to her desk. He watched from the door as she opened a file and brushed her fingertips over her lips. He smiled, his Grace was thinking about kissing him and tonight he was going to give her even more to think about. 

“Finally,” Patrick Jane leaned against the wall next to him with a wide cheerful smile. “Cho and I had a bet about how long your ‘memory’ would take to come back. And how long you’d wait to act on it. One more work day and I’d owe him fifty bucks. Thanks.” 

Wayne didn’t bother taking his eyes off Grace. “What would’ve happened if I hadn’t remembered?” 

“You think you could have forgotten kissing Grace? Really?” Jane shrugged and folded his arms over his chest with a laugh. “Besides, the mind doesn’t work like that. Nothing really gets erased. You’d have dreamt about it, remembered eventually.” 

“I dreamed about kissing Grace, holding her long before I got hypnotized. But knowing how she responded… that’s what got me to do something about it.” Wayne rubbed a hand over his face and finally looked at Jane. “I need her, Jane, I love her.” 

“It looks like you finally got her. What are you going to do about it now?” 

Wayne could feel the smile on his face and didn’t bother trying to hide it. “I’m going to give her love and affection. Lots of it.” 

“Good boy, that’s the ticket.” 

It was easier said than done. There were only two hours before work ended, if it managed to end on time. If Wayne was going to give Grace that love and affection, he needed to do some planning. Where to go for dinner… 

Sitting at his desk, Wayne pretended to do paperwork as he planned. If they were barely holding onto self-control in the office, even the nicest restaurant was probably a bad idea. And if he let her dress up… There was no way in hell that he’d manage to keep his hands off her for even a quick meal. 

He could cook for her. A man with his years of bachelorism had the skills to survive a kitchen. And his mother had made sure he had more skills than some. He could steal little kisses throughout the cooking and eating process. The more time he had to shower her with love and affection, the better. Wayne set his mind on a search of his apartment. He had the makings of most of your basic Italian dishes, and he remembered all too well the appreciative sounds she’d made the last time they’d ordered garlic chicken pizza for a case closing party.

Garlic Tuscan Chicken it was, with a nice white wine. And best of all, Grace was going to be in his home tonight, in his arms. 

Wayne smiled and looked across the room at her desk. Grace glanced up like she could feel his eyes and gave him a soft smile before looking away. //Just a little longer to wait, Grace, then I can touch you again.// 

000


	2. Here Be the Planning

Remembering   
By AnitaB  
Chapter two: Here be the planning…

He was planning something. Wayne had the poker face of a small child on Christmas morning. He was simply horrible at hiding anything. She loved that about him. Whatever he was planning was going to be fun. And it was going to involve kissing. Grace had felt his eyes on her since she’d almost climbed him in the filing room. The heat in his gaze was sending little trembling shivers up and down his back. Her fingers felt cold without his around them, without the hot lines of his muscles through his shirt. But there was at least another hour of work left before they could get out of here. Sixty more minutes before she could warm her hands on the hard lines of his shoulders, before she could feel those arms around her and those lips against her own. 

Damn, paperwork was not distracting enough to get him off her mind. Forcing her eyes to the paper, Grace tried to focus. Then someone sat on the edge of her desk. Only their resident mind-reader lounged quite like that. “Hello, Jane.” 

“Good evening, Grace. Have any dinner plans for this fine evening?” His smile and the line of his gaze swept across the room to glide over Wayne’s desk. Jane didn’t ask questions without knowing the answers or at least planning to get them soon. And that hypnotized kiss had sort of been his idea. 

“Of course, I do. I try to eat dinner every day, don’t you, Jane?” Grace smiled at him, leaning back in her chair with a smile. “It’s better for your health that way.”

“Oh, of course I eat dinner every day. But not usually at Rigsby’s place. And certainly with a lot less kissing than I expect your plans will involve tonight. Though he’s supposed to be a good cook.” 

“Really, Jane. I wouldn’t think you’d be Rigsby’s type of dinner guest. And kissing… well, that would be a bit of a shocker to all the girls you flirt with, don’t you think?” Grace knew he knew because, well, because he was Jane. He knew everything. 

“Stubborn Grace, Rigsby is so much easier to fluster.” Jane leaned close and smiled even wider. “Don’t be too stubborn for our sweet boy tonight.” A pat on her shoulder later, he wandered off to annoy someone else. Leaving Grace to glance over at Wayne. It seemed he’d gotten past her barriers, stubbornness and all. She should be angry about that, but… she couldn’t. He was a big teddy bear, and she’d been fighting these feelings way too long. 

Grace wanted this, wanted his arms around her, wanted his kiss. And she didn’t want to wait another hour for it. They didn’t have a hot case and paperwork lasted forever. Slowly, she came to her feet and crossed the space to his desk. “Whattaya say we cut out early today?” 

Wayne looked up at her and it took all her control to keep herself out of his lap at the instant heat in his eyes. “Yeah, I’d like that, Grace.” One big hand half reached out, then clenched into a fist on the edge of his desk. “Whattaya say I make us some Tuscan Garlic chicken at my place?” Grace felt a shiver tumble through her body at the thought. They’d be completely alone, no coworkers, no interruptions… no reason to hold back. Those big hands that were fighting against reaching for her would finally touch her. Her hands would finally get to explore the hard, smooth lines of him…

“Yeah, I’d like that, Wayne.” Grace could hear the heat in her own voice, watched Wayne respond to it in the tightening of hard muscles and big hands. They should go… now, before one of them lost a grip on the last little bits of self-control. “Let’s go.” 

She couldn’t help watching as he stretched an arm out for his suit jacket and rose to his feet. Sometimes, Grace forgot just how tall and strong he was. “Ladies first,” A warm hand settled in the small of her back, leading her down the hall to the elevator. She, for her part, folded her hands together in front of her. No getting things started in the office, well, any more than they had already. 

The elevator never seemed so slow in her life. The parking lot had never been bigger. And never had she thought his car looked that good. He led her to the passenger door and suddenly it was just a little too much. She couldn’t get in the car before she got a kiss ‘cause distracting the driver was not a good idea. “Wayne,” Grace laid a hand on his chest and leaned up and in. He met her half way, lips finding hers eagerly, strong hands holding her tight against his chest. He tasted so good, felt so strong, so safe. And he was pressing her against the side of his car, his hand stroking along the back of her thigh. For just a moment, she saw it. Her knee would climb the edge of his hip. His hands would help her legs wrap around his waist. Her fingers would dig into the hard muscles of his shoulders. And then they just might get arrested for public indecency. //Stop, now…// Grace weakly pulled back from his lips. “I should get…”

“Yeah… in the car.” Grace smiled at the slow opening of his arms and the quick opening of the car door. “Let’s go, Grace.” She loved the low rasp of his voice and the heat in his eyes. Climbing into the car, Grace buckled the seatbelt, more to remind her to stay in her seat than for safety. 

She couldn’t help the way her eyes locked to his hands as he pulled out of the parking lot. She watched the muscles in his arms flex and tighten with each turn of the wheel. Some part of her mind noticed that he obeyed traffic laws the whole way. //That’s my little boy scout.//

000

If she didn’t stop looking at him like that, he was gonna have to pull over and drag her across the seat into his arms. Wayne could feel her eyes on his hands, heating his lips. It was hard enough to stay at the speed limit as it was. But no street cop deserved to be shot for slowing them down right now. About one more mile and they’d be on his front step, about to be in his living room with his arms around her. “Almost there, Grace.” 

“I’m not going anywhere, Wayne. We have time.” Her voice made muscles all over his back tighten up. They might have plenty of time, but the first time, he was going to be fighting the urge to take her fast and hard against his living room wall. Grace reached out, one warm hand resting on his wrist. He could feel every single nerve in his body strain to be the few inches of skin under her fingers. At the next red light, Wayne pulled that hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. When the light turned green, he kept those fingers wrapped around his own and managed the rest of the drive one-handed. The tight feeling in his throat made a spoken response out of the question. 

By the time the car came to a stop in front of his building, Wayne had a little control over his vocal cords back. “Come inside, Grace.” Eyes locked on hers, he kissed the inside of her palm and made himself let her go. A smile and a nod later, Grace climbed out of his car and led the way to the door. God she was beautiful, every line and curve of her sweet body drew his eyes as she climbed his front steps and looked back at him. 

“Are you coming, Wayne?” 

//Hell, yes,// “Right behind you, Grace.” Walking a little faster, Wayne put both arms tight around her waist and pulled her back against his chest. Her body pressed closer, her hands sliding over his at her hips. “Holding you,”

“I feel you, Wayne. Open the door.” Smiling, she rocked her hips back against his and laughed low in her throat. “Better hurry a little.” 

She wanted him to lose control, trying to push him over the edge right here. He put one hand flat against her stomach to keep her close and dug for his keys with the other. “Hold still, Grace.” The lock resisted at first, then opened to let them in. Forcing his arms open, he watched her walk across his living room. So damn beautiful. She was so damn beautiful he knew he wasn’t going to have an ounce of control left the next time he touched her. “Sweetheart, if you want me to slow down, you have to tell me now. The next time I touch you, kiss you, I won’t be able to stop.” His Grace smiled at him from across the room, her eyes flicking down to his hands, his lips. He watched her hands slide over her hips and knot together at her waist. Grace wanted this, wanted him, and it pushed him that much closer to throwing her over his shoulder and carrying her to bed.

“I knew when we barely stopped at the office what would happen if I came home with you, Wayne. I want this. I want you.” The space between them shrank, but he couldn’t say which one of them moved. Maybe it was both of them. Then her hands pressed wide over his heart and his hands slid around her waist. “I think dinner can wait, don’t you, Wayne?” 

She was killing him, but god it felt good. Catching her tight against his chest, Wayne claimed her lips with his own. Now there was no reason to stop. When her arms curled around his neck and her knee climbed the edge of his hip, he helped it along. Still lost in her kiss, he slid both hands to the line of her thighs and lifted her against his hips. “Grace, I need you, all of you.” He reclaimed her lips in a deep, breathless kiss and walked down the hall with Grace cradled in his arms. 

At the bedroom door, he stopped a moment, pulling back from her lips. He watched her eyes slowly open, loving the heat he saw there. “Wayne,” Her fingers slid along his jaw, trying to lead his lips back to hers. If he took that kiss, he’d end up pinning her to the wall at her back. 

“Hold on a second,” He shifted her against his chest to get one hand to the doorknob, swinging the door wide to get her inside. “I need you in my bed first.” Grace shivered in his arms, clinging to his neck for the short walk across the room.

“And I need you out of that suit jacket.” The slight scratch of her nails along his shoulders put another shiver down his back.

“Yes, ma’am,” Wayne forced his arms slowly open and lowered her to her feet. Before he could get his fingers off her waist, Grace was already sliding her hands into the jacket to work on his shirt buttons. Her gorgeous eyes locked on his lips as she leaned up on her toes. “Grace,” //So much for the jacket,// Clenching his hands on her hips, he pulled her tight against his chest and took the kiss she offered. Hot fingers slid down his ribs and pulled his shirt loose from his belt. 

If her hands went any lower, he was going to rip her shirt open to get to her skin. And she didn’t have a spare shirt that he knew of. //Grace,// Wayne grabbed her wrists and pulled back from her lips. “Wayne,” //Don’t, sweetheart.//

“Grace, I need to touch you, right now.” The low groan on her lips almost tempted him back into a kiss. Almost. “Please,” Sliding his hands up and down her back, Wayne opened her suit jacket and guided it down her arms. The fabric forced her hands off his skin for the moment or two to peel it away. Then his Grace wasn’t about to be stopped. 

Strong hands shoved his jacket and shirt roughly over his shoulders and down his arms. Then her fingers dragged heat over his skin as she pressed close to wrap her arms around his shoulders. “I need you, too. Right now.” Her lips stopped so close to his that he couldn’t breathe without a kiss. 

Losing himself in her kiss, he slid hungry fingertips under the edge of her shirt to feel the heat of her skin. //Yes, Grace.//

000


	3. So Much for Home Cooking

Remembering  
By AnitaB  
Chapter three: So much for home cookin’

Damn she loved the feel of him under her hands. Hot, smooth skin outlined the solid bulk of hard, strong muscles. And she couldn’t touch enough of it because his hands were peeling her suit jacket off her body. Then, those arms held her tight against the heat of his chest and Grace was free to explore the bare heat of that upper body. “I need you, too. Right now.” 

Grace could feel the low rasp of his groan against her lips before his kiss stole her breath and his hands dragged heat up her back. //Wayne,// Big hands drove a shiver up her back and followed it up to her shoulders. //More,// She needed those fingers on all of her skin, needed his body closer against her own, hotter, tighter. Dragging herself back from the kiss, Grace smiled at his low whisper of her name. Wayne wanted this as much as she did. She locked her eyes on his face as she pulled her shirt off over her head. His eyes were worth it, igniting every nerve in her body with the heat in them. “Grace, sweetheart…” His hand shook in the air between them for a second before sliding over her shoulder to cover her heart. “Grace, you are so beautiful.” 

His arms pulled her closer as his head dipped to brush warm lips down her neck. “Hmm, Wayne,” Grace got a grip on his shoulders and helplessly arched into the heat of his arms and his kiss. He kissed his way over her shoulder to the strap of her bra. The wet glide of his tongue against her skin made her knees go weak. “Wayne, please,” 

“I got you, Grace,” Those arms shifted and Grace found herself clinging to his shoulders for the short walk to his bed. “I got you, sweetheart.” Soft cotton rubbed along her back as Wayne lowered her onto the mattress. Then big hands slid up her back to the hooks of her bra. “I gotta see you, Grace, gotta touch you.” Between them, they got the cloth out of the way and he cupped her breasts with a low groan. Big, gentle hands explored her curves as he kissed his way over her ribs. She fought to breathe as those lips got closer to the most sensitive nerves. Grace caught one hand in his hair and clenched the other against the hard, flexing muscles of his back. //More, Wayne, closer.// He stopped, so damn close that she could feel his breath ghosting over the peak of her breast and looked up at her with hot eyes. “Grace?” 

“Yes, Wayne, please.” Grace got to see his slow smile before those lips were busy making her eyes close and her back arch. Wayne was killing her with gentle suction and an exploring tongue. Big hands pressed flat against her back, holding her still in the circle of his arms. All the while, her nerves begged her to move, to feel more of the man in her arms. “Wayne… ah…please.” Grace crossed her ankles behind his hips and dug her nails into his back. “More, please.” 

She felt and adored the sound of his low groan as it shook her ribs. Then she groaned as his fingers clenched on her hip and pulled her tight against his body. “Grace,” She could feel him, hard against her stomach as Wayne dragged her close for a deep, exploring kiss. Strong arms held her tight against every hot, hard muscle in his upper body. And it was glorious, but nowhere near enough. Kicking off her shoes, Grace braced her heels on the bed and rubbed up against him deliberately. Time to hurry him up. “Baby, please.” 

Grace laughed against his lips and rubbed both hands over his back. “Time to lose the pants, Wayne. Get mine off too.” He looked like a big kid on Christmas morning. Granted, she was the present he wanted to open. Wayne braced his arms on either side of her and dragged hungry eyes down her body to the belt. His smile got even wider. Suddenly, Wayne was kneeling at her feet with his hands fighting open her buckle, button and zipper. Then she wasn’t allowed to see the look on his face as he kissed and licked a line low across her stomach, but she could feel his shoulders move under her nails. “Wayne,”

“Right here, Baby. Hold on.” She felt the edge of his teeth against the edge of her hip as his hands dragged her pants down her thighs to peel off her ankles. “God, you’re beautiful.” Strong hands rubbed from her knees up to her waist, and she could feel every inch of her skin beg to be the next in the path of those fingertips. Wayne smiled against her lips, kissing her rasp of a moan away. “I love that you want me this much, Grace.” The panties were next to be peeled away and then it was his turn to groan low and harsh against her lips as his fingers explored between her thighs. “Grace, you feel…”

Enough, she needed him out of his pants right damn now. Grace pushed against his shoulders, forcing him back enough to reach his belt. “Wayne, naked, now.” She couldn’t let him touch her until she’d gotten him bare or she was going to shred those pants. “I do want you, Wayne, and not just your hands.” He caught her lips for a desperate kiss as her hands won the battle against his clothes and slid the zipper down. Getting her eyes back to his face, Grace wrapped all ten fingers around the hard, hot length of his erection. “I got you, Wayne. I love that you want me this much.” She loved feeling every inch of his body arch into the grip of her fingers. She simply adored the sound on his lips before Wayne crushed her tight against his chest and kissed her breathless and mindless. 

“Grace,” He pressed down against her, stopping the stroke of her hands by trapping them between their bodies. He felt so damn good, so close, so hard. //Wayne,// One big hand cupped her cheek as his breath rushed and caught against her lips. “Grace, I need inside you. Please, baby, say yes.” His hips rocked against hers, helplessly rubbing and arching as his eyes begged hers. Every single inch of her body knew there would never be any going back once she’d felt him inside her. And that was exactly what Grace wanted, needed more than anything. “Grace, please,”

She couldn’t breathe enough to answer. Instead, she’d have to show him. Grace caught his lips in a desperate kiss and guided the tip of his erection into position between her thighs. Her body arched on its own, taking just the head of him inside. He felt… “Yes, Wayne,” 

He stopped, one hand on her hip holding her still beneath him. “Eyes, Grace. Look at me.” She hadn’t realized that she’d closed her eyes at the feel of him until that hard heat stopped barely inside. //Tease,// Grace forced her eyes open to meet those big, brown puppy dog eyes of his. “There, Grace. I have to see this in your face. So beautiful.” It was so hard to keep her eyes open as every hot, hard inch of him pressed slowly deeper. No one, ever, had felt so damn good just sliding home. “That’s my Grace. So good.” 

Her hips responded to the sound of his voice and the slow press of his hips, arching into his thrust to get just a little more of him inside. No one had ever been so deep, so close, so strong and gentle all at once. “Wayne, please.” Grace helplessly closed her eyes and arched against the feel of him, wrapping her legs tight around his hips to hold him close. When his lips touched hers, Grace gave up on thinking or breathing and lost herself in his kiss. 

000

She was heaven, all soft skin and need in his arms. Wayne could feel himself crumbling at the soft heat of her fingers wrapped around his erection, the smooth silk of her body under his. He was going to spill over her fingertips if she stroked him one more time. Frantically breaking the kiss, Wayne helplessly groaned her name and moved to pin her under his body. //Oh, please, baby, wait.// Her hand couldn’t move pressed that tightly between their bodies, but it didn’t keep her from tightening her grip and stealing his control. He caught her precious face in his hands and found himself begging. “Grace, I need inside you. Please, baby, say yes.” His hips were begging too, helplessly rocking and arching into the grip of her hands. “Grace, please.”

The heat in her face was so beautiful as his precious Grace moved to wrap just the tip of him in the softest, sweetest heat he’d ever felt. And then her eyes closed and she moaned his name. //No, baby.// He needed her eyes on his face. Had to see this. Had to keep her hips still under his. “Eyes, Grace. Look at me.” He felt the struggle in her body to both take him deeper and get her eyes open. Wayne tightened his hold on her hip and waited impatiently for her eyes. “There, Grace. I have to see this in your face. So beautiful.” Locking his eyes on hers, he fought his nerves to a standstill in order to ever so slowly bury himself in her heat. So tight, so soft, and so damn warm she was burning him alive. Wayne watched her eyes flutter and her lips part on a breathless gasp, watched her fight to hold his gaze as her body felt every inch of his. //That’s it, baby, feel me. Feel us together.// “That’s my Grace. So good.” 

At the last moment her hips arched into his, forcing the last inch of him deep and hard inside her. No woman had ever felt like this. No woman before Grace had ever stolen so much of his control with just the first slide home. And the sound of her voice. “Wayne, please.” Wrapping his trembling arms tight around her body, Wayne felt her legs tighten around his hips and leaned down for her kiss. //So damn good, and still not enough.// 

He drowned himself in her kiss, the sweet taste of her on his tongue and tried to find some scraps of his self-control. If he made the first thrust inside her before he got a grip on himself, it might also be the last. There was nothing he wanted more than to feel all of her as fast and hard as he could. But he needed to feel her shatter in his arms and scream his name. Wayne needed to make her feel as good as she had already made him feel. Weakly breaking the kiss, he locked his eyes to her face and made a gentle thrust against her body. “Grace,” Her eyes fluttered, her legs tightened, and her body finished his thrust, meeting his hips hard with her own. 

“Wayne, more.” The next thrust was harder and deeper, following the guidance of her nails in his shoulders and her heels at his back. She owned him, every single inch of his body obeyed the sound of her voice and the pull of her body. Wayne got lost in the rhythm of each arch of her hips, loving each gasp and sigh on her delicious lips. He was lost in the slick, smooth heat of her skin under his, all of it so hot and soft. Her nails dug slightly into his shoulders with each meeting of their hips, harder with each thrust. With the next rasp of his name, Wayne fought for the tiniest bit of control. He wanted to see, feel exactly how much she wanted this, him. He wanted to watch her gorgeous body move over his, feel her claim him. 

“Grace,” Clenching both hands on her hips, Wayne rolled to his back without losing one inch of contact with her skin. Her eyes flew open with the first thrust of his hips under hers. “That’s it, my Grace. Show me.” Those gorgeous hands rubbed over his chest to brace against his stomach. And then she tried to kill him with the beautiful dance and twist of her hips over his. She was breathtaking, with her hair tumbling over her shoulders and her lips opened on the sound of his name. Her hips rocked, plunging over his to drive him deeper than he’d ever been before. So soft, so hot, so tight. Her nails dug just slightly into his stomach as her hips danced faster. //Yes, baby, more.// His hands wandered, obsessed with touching every inch of the gorgeous skin above him, cupping her breasts . She was perfection, every smooth, soft inch of her. “Sweet Grace. More, please, baby, more.”

“Hmm, Wayne.” Her eyes felt closed and her hands spread wide over his skin. Before he stopped groaning at the sweet sound of her voice, her eyes burned into his and her lips were a breath above his own. “You feel so, so good, Wayne. So hard, so hot, so …very…deep.” Her hips made a tiny little circle around the desperate length of him and pressed down hard and still. “So good, Wayne. I can feel every inch of you inside me. So deep.” Her voice had his hands clenching on her waist and his brains melting out his ears. His every nerve was focused on that depth of her heat. “What do you want, Wayne? What do you need?” 

//You, sweetheart. More of you.// Wayne fought the feel of her to speak at all. “A kiss, please.” Her lips smiled before her hands stroked up his ribs to curve around his shoulders. Those lips moved closer, her breasts rubbed his chest as she leaned down against him. “Kiss me, Grace.” 

“Always,” Her body touched the length of his as her lips reached for his, smooth hot silk against every inch of his skin. Her hips rocked and danced in time with the plunge of her tongue. //God, sweetheart,// His hands clenched on her hips and met every move of her body with every inch of his. He loved the look of surprise and heat on her face when he bottomed out inside her. “Wayne… ah…” The next thrust brought a wordless sound of need to her lips and he loved it.

“Right there, Grace. I got you, right here.” Each thrust pushed them both just a little closer to that edge, that shining edge of pleasure that he absolutely needed to see in her eyes. “So close, sweetheart, come for me, baby.” She was close, he could feel just how close in the tightening of her muscles and the grip of her nails. Just a little more and he’d get her to shatter and take him with her. “Grace,” His fingers slipped down her side to stroke the wet heat between her thighs. “Come for me, right here, sweetheart.” 

He could feel it starting in a wave of sensation rising in them both. 

000


	4. Finding the Words... and the Food

Chapter four: Finding the words … and the food. 

He felt amazing. That big, hard body was spread out under her. Wayne’s hands clutched at her hips as every inch of him arched up just a little deeper. Flat, hard muscles moved under her fingers with every desperate little movement of his hips. But he couldn’t really thrust until she let him. And Grace had something to say first. “You feel so, so good, Wayne. So hard, so hot, so …very…deep.” Her body just couldn’t hold perfectly still with the feel of him that deep. Her hips made a tiny little circle around the point of his erection and pressed down on him hard. Grace loved the sound on his lips and couldn’t help a sound of her own.“So good, Wayne. I can feel every inch of you inside me. So deep.” Every inch of his body twitched under and inside hers, straining to get impossibly deeper. //God, yes, Wayne.// “What do you want, Wayne? What do you need?” 

She adored the look of desperate need on his face and the tight grip of his hands. “A kiss, please.” His eyes locked to her lips as her body helplessly leaned flat along his to get to his lips. Her hands rubbed up his chest to his shoulders before his breath ghosted over her lips. “Kiss me, Grace.” 

“Always,” Grace delighted in his kiss, her body helplessly moving in time over his with the dance of their tongues. His hands guided the arch and slide of her hips, changing the angle until … //God, Wayne…// Grace could feel. Every. Single. Inch. Of. Him. “Wayne…ah…” The next arch of his hips stole her ability to form words.

And he knew it. Against her lips, Wayne grinned and whispered, “Right there, Grace. I got you, right here.” His body kept the rhythm steady, right against those nerves no one else had ever reached. And the whole time his eyes stayed on hers for every little sight and sound. “So close, sweetheart, come for me, baby.” He held her, right on the edge of everything she was desperate to feel. “Grace,” And then Wayne pulled out all the stops. A big hand moved delicately between her legs, a light stroke of his fingertips shoved her right to the edge. “Come for me, right here, sweetheart.” 

It wasn’t like she had a choice in the matter. The wave crashed over her in a rush of uncontrolled sensation. Some part of her heard her own voice crying out. Some part of her felt her nails digging into his back. All of her felt the jerk and arch of his hips under hers. All of her felt the strength in his hands as they clenched on her hips. All of her heard the rasp of her name on his lips. 

Those arms caught her as she collapsed over his body, fighting to breathe around the feelings in her chest. Under her ear, his heart raced and his lungs heaved. Her entire body matched the rhythm of his, breathing hard and raggedly against his shoulder. Grace could feel her own heart pounding in every inch of her skin as his hands rubbed up and down her back. Those fingers ran through her hair. This was … absolute perfection. Grace wrapped both arms tight around his neck and leaned in for his kiss. “Wayne,” Those gorgeous puppy dog eyes were full of heat as his hand warmly cupped her cheek to lead her in. She loved the look on his face before her lips met his and both their eyes closed. The kiss was slow, sweet, and hot, sending a dose of heat along her every nerve until the need for air pulled her back from his lips.

“Grace,” His hand stayed on her face, keeping her close to his lips. “I love you, Grace Van Pelt, and I’m never letting you go again.” What should have scared her instead sent a river of heat through her blood. Wayne Rigsby wasn’t a man to go back on his word. He meant what he said and he’d said he loved her more than once. Grace felt her eyes fall closed and her body tremble in the circle of his arms. “Sweetheart, please say something.” 

It took her a few seconds to get her eyes open and in that time she could feel the tension enter his body. “Wayne,” Grace cupped a hand along his jaw, her fingertips rubbing over his lips. “I’m not going anywhere. I…” her voice stopped in her throat and she took a quick kiss off his lips while she struggled to find the words. His hands on her back were shaking just a little, his eyes stayed locked on her face. Wayne wanted the truth, he needed it. And deep down, she knew she needed to tell him. No more hiding from him, from this. No more fighting these feelings. “I love you, too, Wayne Rigsby. I do love you.” 

He believed it. Grace could see it in his eyes in the fraction of a second before he reacted. Wayne’s arms tightened, crushing her against his chest as he claimed her lips. No kiss in her life had ever felt this important, this perfect. This right. She wrapped both arms tight around his neck and dove into the heat of his kiss. Big, strong hands slid over her back, pressing every inch of her body closer against his as their tongues danced and stroked. In this moment Grace felt the heat in her blood spike even higher. She had never been as close to anyone as she was to Wayne right now. It was amazing, but somehow she still wasn’t close enough to him. She might not ever get him close enough. 

Grace found her nails digging into his shoulders, trying to pull him even closer. “Hmm, Grace,” Gentle fingers cupped her jaw as his lips brushed hers and pulled back. “My beautiful Grace,” Wayne cuddled her close and she happily pressed closer to the racing of his heart. “Stay close, sweetheart. I need you close.” His eyes were locked on her lips, his fingers stroking through her hair to lead her in for a deep, sweet kiss. 

Shifting her knees against his hips, Grace gave him another kiss before laying her head on his shoulder. “I’m right here, Wayne. I’ve got you.” Grace closed her eyes to soak in the heat of him so close, so warm, holding her so tight. She adored the stroke of those hands over her skin, the warmth of his arms around her, and the steady beat of his heart against her ribs. 

Some time passed, but Grace was lost in the feel of his heat and couldn’t say how long it was. Wayne’s arms shifted around her and his lips brushed over her skin. “Are you hungry, Grace? We could get just dressed enough to make something to eat.” 

That was right, he’d planned to cook for her. Wayne was going to make Tuscan garlic chicken if she let him out of bed long enough. And as tempting as handcuffing him to the headboard naked for the next 6 hours sounded… they really should eat something to keep up their strength. “Hmm, yeah, but only if you don’t put on a shirt.” Grace watched her own fingers slide along the lines and muscles of his chest. “I could eat.” 

He groaned low in his throat and stole a quick, deep kiss. “Hmm… how ‘bout you wear my shirt instead and nothing else while we cook.” His hand rubbed down the length of her back to trail up and down her thigh. “I could look at these legs a little longer.” 

“Deal,” Grace dragged herself out of his arms to reach for his discarded button down. “Get on some pants if you really mean to get out of bed.” 

Slipping into his shirt, she rolled up the sleeves and fastened one button. Behind her, Wayne slipped into pants and then groaned low and harsh in his throat when she turned. “Button it up, Grace, unless you want to be the only thing heated up in the kitchen in the next hour.” 

She loved the bonfire in his eyes, the eyes currently locked on the single closed button over her breasts. Grace stepped closer, watching the muscles in his arms clench and tighten. “Really? Just a little bit of skin like this could distract you, Wayne?” 

Another step closer and those arms moved. A gasp passed her lips when his hands slid under the shirt and lifted her against the hard wall of his chest. Strong fingers stroked and braced her back as he dipped his head to kiss and lick his way down the gap in the shirt to bury his face against her heart. She helplessly wrapped her arms around his shoulders and struggled to breathe under the stroke of his tongue and the rasp of his groan. 

“Damnit, baby, you could distract me in a hazmat suit.” Wayne planted one more, soft, wet kiss to the skin over her heart before setting her on her feet and stepping out of reach. “Button it up or I’m taking it off you and dinner will wait a little longer.” 

It was tempting. The look on his face said he meant every word. All that stood between those arms and her body was this one little fastened button… No. //After dinner, I’ll strip him back out of those pants after dinner.// “Alright, Wayne, I’ll button it up, but only after you zip up those pants.” 

She loved his smile, adored the way his hands looked at the front of his pants and mourned the metallic sound of his zipper. //Patience, Grace, you’ll get him again soon enough.// “Your turn, Sweetheart.” Grace bit her lip and watched his eyes follow every move of her fingers as she buttoned the shirt from collar to hem. 

“Well, are we ready now?” 

He cleared his throat, clenched his hands in his pants pockets and nodded towards the door. “No, but we better move away from the bed anyway. After you.” 

As she led the way to the kitchen, Grace could feel his eyes like a laser on her back. Yup, they’d better eat dinner now, ‘cause she was gonna have a hard time ignoring the heat even more later on. 

000


End file.
